Each year shortly after Christmas, department stores, drug stores and the like turn red. Flower shops advertise bouquets of roses. Little kids pick out their favorite cartoon character Valentines to exchange with their classmates. Everyone scrambles to buy that special someone the perfect Valentine’s gift.

The election officers are a vital part of having a smooth, fair and accurate election.

In order to serve as an election officer, you must attend election training sessions; you must also be a qualified registered voter. You can serve as a precinct officer as long as you will be 18 years old on or before the general election.

A guest editorial about the Owen County dog shelter ran in last week’s paper. Due to space constraints some information was omitted. The following is the information that was not included. OCFA would like to express our gratitude to Editor John Whitlock and The News Herald for running the weekly ad and periodically updating the community on the shelter’s progress.

Owen County Friends of Animals Inc. has been working diligently to improve the plight of homeless dogs in Owen County since the organization’s inception in 2005.

The organization began when 42 citizens addressed the fiscal court voicing concerns about the lack of care for dogs in the county’s custody. At that time dogs were housed in a dilapidated barn with no heat. The primary issue of concern was that 100 percent of the dogs that were picked up by the county were euthanized (a more gentle term for killed) regardless of their adoptability.

I would like to thank you for your editorial in the paper about our tea party and about us standing up for what we believe in and taking our rights to the streets and taking the time to meet instead of yelling at the TV while sitting in the comfort of our homes.